Abyssal Pixels: Microsoft’s Cattle

Note: This was written well before E3 even begun, so some of the info in this column might not be the same or has changed in one way or the other. I still stand by what I have written even if new information has arisen. Without any further delay, enjoy the column.

In the golden days there were constant references made to robots and artificial intelligence taking over the human race and making humans nothing but thralls whose only goal is to please their masters. Well, it’s slowly coming true, but the plot has changed a little. Greedy and immoral humans use machines and electronic products to enslave us and be destined to do their bidding. The main adjective that applies the most is greed. Companies are becoming more and more money hungry and simply do not give a fuck about how many people they trample along the way as long as they get a bump in their bottomline. This can not be more evident than with the Xbox One. Now, I know most people are tired of the constant news and controversies by now, but give me a chance to explain myself here.

Microsoft have taken it among themselves to take as much power as they possibly can away from the people that use their product. Bought a game? Oh sorry you can do absolutely nothing else with it except play it once. Live in a rural area that does not have physical internet lines in the ground and no mobile reception? Boo freaking hoo we don’t care. It absolutely astounds me how Microsoft can be so incredibly evil and not see any wrong with it. Do they even realise they are screwing over hundreds of thousands of gamers without even a shred of regret just so that they can make more money?

The one thing I do admire about Microsoft is how they can maintain such a cold outlook on their decisions. They fully believe that their decisions are absolutely amazing and should not be challenged at all. That’s a new level of evil. And just to further prove how evil they are, they seem to think that all humans live in exactly the ideal setting that they would want to exist in. In their newest press release they even have the audacity to say this:

For an optimal experience, we recommend a broadband connection of 1.5Mbps. (For reference, the average global internet connection speed as measured recently by Akamai was 2.9 Mbps). In areas where an Ethernet connection is not available, you can connect using mobile broadband

Yes Microsoft, every single country in the entire world has a broadband connection of 1.5 Mbps. Try taking away the very few countries that have extremely good internet structures and see how that average weighs in. And then they say something where I had to do a double take to even process. If you can’t get an Ethernet connection, just use mobile broadband. Yes Microsoft, every piece of land on this Earth has excellent mobile coverage and on top of that, uncapped data. Hell, when I got to my new town there was no wireless internet coverage which was the only means I had to connect to the internet. Even when I was in a covered zone, my speeds were absolutely abysmal. So slow that I could not even watch a YouTube video in 240p.

But I digress. A rather lengthy digression at that.

Microsoft wants to control its fanbase. Do what they what, how they want and when they want. Screw your rights as a consumer and screw your wishes. They only want you to do what they say and you can not question that. Microsoft wants you as a slave. A cow that they can milk every penny out of. A flock of sheep that they can control and slaughter if they feel like it. That’s a bit overdramatic, but it’s the harsh truth.

Then you get the sympathisers that think that Microsoft’s decisions are amazing. Tell me, who do their choices advantage? It’s certainly not you, the consumer, because it limits what you can do with your property. It only benefits themselves and the absolute money grubbing scum that are mainstream publishers. Those “features” were not implemented to make your life easier, they were put in place to make sure you spend as much of your money as you possibly can on their products.

Microsoft doesn’t care about its fanbase. They want to implement mandatory internet “checks” that will further disadvantage the disadvantaged, shit on people with low incomes and, this is the absolute worst of it all, alienate people that do military service and put their lives on the line to keep their countries safe and want to relax with some gaming. If you can somehow convince me that that’s okay them by all means do it. I fucking challenge you.

Everything is about money. To Hell with trying to keep our customers happy and make sure our consumers are well suited for, we want to milk every last drop of cash from you until you are dry and worthless. Why are these changes being implemented? Money. Why are we being disadvantaged? Money. Why is an age old practice being redefined so radically? Money. Why is Microsoft catering to the ignorant casual market? Money. It’s all about that bottom line. How good their profit charts look at the end of the fiscal year.

What I really don’t understand is why they don’t just stay to their current formula. The Xbox 360 isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it still allows us to do what we want with our games and play how we want to. There’s nothing wrong with it. Everything works perfectly as it is. There is no need to radically change things and piss off thousands upon thousands of people like this. Just do what you’re currently doing and everything will be alright. Gamers will live in happiness and you can still implement as many features as your heart desires even if it does not cater to all the demographics. Why sabotage yourself just to have a shot at making some more profit? Why tarnish your brand and losing life-long dedicated men and woman that supported you. I just don’t get it.

Maybe I’m irrational. Maybe I’m a raving madman. But I stand for what is right, what is fair and what is morally correct. You may refute my arguments, say I’m wrong and call me an emotional idiot, but I stand by my rights as a consumer and as a gamer. I want to be the best gamer I can be and that’s not possible if I’m being controlled like a damn cow.